Fitch Ratings has affirmed Cameroon’s long-term foreign-currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at B with a stable outlook, saying political instability remains a weakness. “Political instability is a weakness versus peers and succession to the recently re-elected 85-year-old president, Paul Biya, is a risk,” it warned, adding: “Tensions could rise given the worsening of political instability and violence in the two…

Fitch Ratings has revised the outlook on Gabon’s long-term foreign-currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) from negative to stable and affirmed the IDR at B, after the country achieved the goals set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for economic recovery. The ratings agency said the improvement in reform implementation has enabled the government to access much-needed official external financing. Notably,…

The Global Reinsurance Forum (GRF) is concerned that significant reinsurance trade barriers are still in place worldwide, despite no new major trade barriers having been added to the latest edition of its Reinsurance Trade Barriers and Market Access Issues Worldwide list. The GRF says it is a positive development, but it continues to encourage jurisdictions to remove existing and remaining…

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $15m equity investment in Verod Capital Growth Fund III, a private equity fund that will make investments in high-growth middle-market companies in Anglophone west Africa, including Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and The Gambia. The fund’s investments will be in companies in consumer-driven sectors including light industrials, fast-moving consumer goods, education, financial services…

Two Francophone African countries are benefiting from International Monetary Fund (IMF) support but risks still remain, Fitch Ratings has warned. The successful completion of the second IMF programme reviews of Gabon (B/Negative) and Cameroon (B/Stable) will ease liquidity constraints, but fiscal adjustment remains uneven and programme implementation risks are high, Fitch Ratings said. Strikes highlight continuing social tensions in Gabon,…

Understanding changing insurance markets and regulatory developments is critical to making sure multinational programmes are compliant and competitive, no matter where they are located, and the implications can be challenging. Insurance regulators are increasingly looking to nurture risk capacity, cultivate insurance expertise and retain premiums within their insurance markets – and this can have important consequences for multinational companies, particularly…

Ivory Coast must urgently implement climate change measures if it is to secure long-term growth and reduce its risks, according to the World Bank. In a new economic update, So Tomorrow Never Dies: Côte d’Ivoire and Climate Change, the short- and medium-term outlook for the Ivorian economy remains positive. The economy is expected to maintain a steady trajectory, with GDP…

There has been an uptick in protectionism in the insurance markets of many African countries, with regulators imposing measures such as compulsory domestic cessions to state reinsurers, the introduction of minimum net premium retention levels, market capacity sharing and higher capital requirements for reinsurance cessions overseas. Erich Bentz, network partner relationship manager for EMEA and regional director of global programmes…

Equatorial Guinea has become the 50th member state of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank). Bank president Dr Benedict Oramah noted that, with its many natural resources, Equatorial Guinea offered great prospects for regional trade, the development of industrial capacity and value-added exports, and said that Afreximbank would support the country’s drive for sustainable economic growth by providing it with financing…

Ghana has become the first west African country to have a representative of the UK Export Finance (UKEF) stationed in-country. Steve Gray, who will be taking up office at the British High Commission in Accra as the UKEF country manager, will work closely with the Department for International Trade team to strengthen trading relations between Ghana and the UK, reaffirming…